I own City of Iron and was looking forward to playing…
Although it needed a much bigger table.
In City of Iron, 2-4 players compete to build up a small nation in a world of machines, magic, and money. Become the leader of one of four rival races: the industrious Humans, the Toad engineers, the scholarly Cresarians, or the clever Hogmen.
Corner the market on goods like machine parts or bottled demons. Research steam-age technology and recruit mercenaries to control the continent. Build sea-going schooners or cloud-cutting airships to reach faraway lands and flying islands. Your cities have limited capacity, so you’ll have to decide what to keep and what to demolish when building advanced structures.
The future of a nation is in your hands. Build unbreakable foundations for an empire or disappear into the dusty pages of history.
So this is quite a large game, in both senses of the word.
You have a city that can hold 5 buildings and you buy buildings to gain abilities and resources and income.
Resources give you income and points.
You buy cards to increase your civilian skills and military strength and use civilians for many abilities and explore new lands.
You use your military to attack towns and use towns to gain abilities and resources and income.
What I do like is it does that thing that games of this type need to have: You have 3 actions per turn and can use 1 at a time.
You WISH you had 10 actions and could use them all in one go.
City of Iron Summary
I’m not going to say too much about it as I feel it’s a game that needs a second playthrough. Money is tight and Science is hard to get, especially late on in the game.
Diversity seems the key. Getting involved in as many different resources as possible is a way to help with that early game lack of money and endgame victory points.
I’m glad I bought it though, I think it could be a game I like to play a lot and one that the game group will enjoy.
Update: 24/05/2018
I played this a second time and enjoyed it. All the players enjoyed it and wanted to play it again. Also, the game really gets a lot of comments from passers-by about the artwork. But, 3rd and 4th plays were both won by the Pig people who won most games using combat.
Due to that, I did end up selling it as there was one good strategy that won every time easily.
Jesta ThaRogue